1974 Norton Commando on 2040-motos

This bike was found languishing in a garage since 2002. It was tricked out as a cafe racer and looked pretty shabby, but had a lot of potential. The best thing about it was that the engine had been completely rebuilt, including new head, valves, pistons and Concentric Amal carbs, some 5000 miles before it was parked, by Bill Mankin at Rabbers in San Jose, CA. I am not sure how many total miles are on the bike, but probably more than the 32000 that show on the odometer.

I brought the bike home and completely disassembled it. This bike has lived its whole life in California and New Mexico. It has absolutely no rust anywhere. I sandblasted the frame and replaced everything on the bike that was even suspect. I restored the bike back to pretty much stock except that it has an AP Racing front brake with an 11.5" full floating disc and Sun Aluminum Rims with Stainless spokes. Also, all the electrics have been upgraded to include a new 200 amp Wassel alternator, Tympanium solid state voltage regulator,  Tri-Spark Electronic Ignition with coils and an electronic Assimilator, along with a new wiring harness and a H4 headlamp. All upgrades designed to increase the bikes reliability. The cam plate has been flipped over so that it shifts 1 down, 3 up like most modern bikes.

Everything on the bike appears to work as it should. There are way too many new parts to list here. If you are interested, and want a complete list, send me a note.  All the paint on the tank and side covers  is new, with no scratches or dents.  I built the bike to ride, but I have replacement knees, and even though the bike starts very well, I am not up to the kickstarter. The bike rides very well, with no problem pulling the mountain hills on I-25 at 75 mph, and we are at 7500'!

The really great thing about this Norton is that next winter, when it is too cold to ride, at least the bike is sitting in the garage getting more valuable. Think about that!